Where have I been???

Where have I been, you ask?  Well, I will tell you!

I have been right here.  My husband lovingly convinced me to buy an embroidery machine the end of October and it arrived mid November.  Since then I have been embroidering away.  One of the main reasons for purchasing a several thousand dollar embroidery machine was that we would start a "little" business with it.  I immediately began making and selling embroidered towels.  I sell them on etsy.com and in a local storefront. For a start up business we have been busy.

Here are a few of our towels:

You can purchase them here: www.etsy.com/shop/wcsears

You can like my facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/byathreadembroidery/

Quilted Place Mats

 I had this bedspread I bought and my husband doesn't really like it.  So it has been sitting in the linen closet taking up space.  I keep meaning to take it to Goodwill when I had this brilliant idea to cut it up and make place mats out of it.  It is quilted on both sides with two different patterns.  This is the same style of fabric I have bought in the past at Joann's to make place mats.  We use place mats all the time at all our meals.  It makes clean up so much easier and gives the plate a place to stay.

The first thing I did was make the pattern.  I don't want huge placemats but ones that will hold the plate and the fork, knife and spoon.  I used a paper bag to cut my template.  I used my plate as a guide and cut about an inch above and below the plate and about two and a half inches on each side.  Again, not too big.

Then it is a simple process. You can take a permanent marker or a fabric marker and trace the template onto the fabric, but in my case I just held it in place and cut around it.  I am lazy like that.

Once you cut them out they will have an open edge on them so we now have to sew it up.  You can take double folded bias tape in a coordinating color and sew it around the edges, but I didn't have enough in one color to do that so I just used my serger and serged all around it.

Voila!  Here the are all done and ready to use.  If you have stray strings or if it looks like it is going to unravel, put a bit of fabric glue on the stray threads and that will hold them.

It is a perfect size for my plates.  If you want it bigger to fit a glass on it then make the template bigger.  If you want to make smaller coasters then you can do that too. You can also make a table runner. Oh the possibilities!!!

The opposite side.

Okay, here is the best part of this whole thing.  I bought this king sized quilt for $24.99 which came with two pillow shams as well.  I made 10 place mats and still have a TON of material left over.  I can buy a yard of this same stuff at Joann Fabrics for $14.99 to $19.99, but not have near as much fabric as I have here.  My thought is that I am going to get a quilt in a Christmas pattern, maybe just buy a twin sized quilt, and make more place mats for the holidays.  This is the cheapest way to get this material. 

Box Cushion, oooo la la!!

My lovely box cushion turned out wonderful! I love this cushion. I took the box cushion sewing class from Joann Fabrics for the past two weekends. It is hard for me to take a class when I have no idea what the end product will look like. That is my only real complaint for this class. The instructor was wonderful but she didn't have a sample for us to see prior to us making the object. So while she is giving us directions I was having a hard time picturing what she wanted me to do. She would say things like, "fold the material in 1 1/2 inches to make a pocket on the outside", but I would have no idea why I was doing what I was doing.

Without further adeiu here is the end product.

It will go on the bench we have at our river place. So the colors and material is perfect for that bench. (I have a feeling my mother might want to steal it too for her house.)

See the close up of the piping!!! I am so proud of me.

And just look at that zipper! Doesn't it look professional???

Ha ha. I have been super busy with some other projects too. I will update you on those when I get them done. It shouldn't be long now.

For my two readers, thanks for hanging with me in my blog drought. I promise to post more often. I have been super crafty recently so I will be posting more now.

Christmas Crafts

In my last post I mentioned that I had been sewing Christmas tree skirts and napkins. I thought I would post a few pictures of these crafts.

This is the first one that I did. The poinsettias in the middle are machine embroidered.

And this is the second one. I altered the pattern slightly so that the top piece isn't there. I love this one.

And this is the napkin. It is two pieces of material cut in a 15 inch circle, sewn together. Then I trimmed it with a fancy stitch trim and the Christmas tree part is just in the fold.

It's reversable!! See!!

Have a crafty day!

I am so ready...

for summer. The kids get out of school for the year on Friday and I have so many projects I want to do. BUT I still have school until June 30th. I am not feeling good about being at work and the kids being out of school without me. Not that I think that they will be injured or anything. I am just plain jealous. Okay, there, I said it, I am jealous! I want to be home too and it isn't fair.

I know that the end of the month will come quickly and I will have my measly month off of work. But right now I am stewing in jealousy.

I haven't been very crafty recently. I have sewed on all my daughter's Brownie patches on her vest. I have made two and a half baby blankets in the granny square pattern. They are really cute and they are mindless. I have thought about cleaning off my scrap table, which desperitely needs to be done but not feeling the mojo there at all. I don't think that I have 'moved on' from scrapbooking but I think I just need a bit of a break. It has been almost three months though and I am getting a bit worried.

So help me out my oh, two readers here, how long have you gone without scrapping? Should I be worried?

The Craft Show this Weekend and a Fleece Scarf Pattern

I am ready, I think for the craft show this weekend. I haven't done this one at the church right up the street from me, so I still feel like I am a newbie to all this. I am not sure how it is run and I haven't been to it in years past myself so I am really really new. I bought a table (6 feet, I think) and I am sure I will end up needing or at least wanting more space. I know I am rambling but I need to get the nerves out.

So this afternoon I am to go set up my space. I have all my supplies and my merchandise. I am taking fleece scarves, fleece dog toys, dog biscuits, hairbows, and some cards I had left over from previous craft shows. I am also taking the pencil toppers too. I decided against apple butter since I only was able to can 8 small jars and I am going to give them as gifts this year. But that is a lot on one table of only 6 feet.

I have a stand for the hairbows so that will get them off the table but the scarves take a lot of room and then the cards. Well, I will figure it out when I get there. I need to remember my camera so I can take some pictures for all of my two readers out there. Thanks guys for reading when I blog.

Whew, okay I had a goal to sell at least $150 of merchandise but I will really be happy with $100. I want to make some money for Christmas.

In honor of the giving season I am posting my instructions for making a fleece Boa Scarf! So here it is: I will post a picture of it later for you to see the finished project.

What you need:

2 pieces of fleece patterned, coordinating, or matching colors, 9 inches wide by 48-60 inches long. The bolts of fleece come usually in 56-60 inches long so just purchase 19 inches of fleece and cut in half. I like to buy a bit extra so I can even it up.

a cutting mat and rotary cutter (or plain ole scissors will work)

coordinating thread.

Here is the hard part, sew the two pieces of fleece right down the middle together. Put one on top of the other and sew right down the middle, you know in the middle. Then take your roatry cutter and cut fringe about 1 inch wide into the sewed part leaving about an inch before you hit the stitching. Then cut the other side in fringe. Shake out and there you have it. Very easy!! Don't worry I will take some pictures and post this weekend for you to get a visual on this.

Okay wish me luck!

So much to do so little time...

Isn't that the story of my life?!?!!! I sit upon this weekend like there are so many weekends before my deadlines. Well this is actually the ONLY weekend before my big deadlines. Where to start???

Okay, next weekend is the craft show at the River. For that I need to have completed, the fleece blankets I have been making. I have three or four left to do. Then I have a bunch of fleece tugs (dog toys) to finish for this too, as well as a bunch of dog treats. Then I need to make some more hair ribbons, cards, and maybe I will throw in some apple butter too.

Then, the following Monday I have a deadline for sending the samples to New York City. I can't work on them next weekend because I have the craft show and will be at the river. So I can only get them done before I leave on Friday. Which actually moves that deadline up to sometime before Friday. UGH.

AND on top of it all we just went apple picking (beautiful day, fun for all and lots of apples) and I now sit staring at 125 lbs (yes you read that right) of beautiful apples just waiting to have something done with them. They can sit for a week in the bags but they really need to be worked on this week and made into apple pies to freeze, apple butter, apple sauce, and anything else "apple" I can think of. Hmmmm...they are delicious though!

So where to start, where to start??? I think I will begin by finishing up the fleece blankets, begin the dog treat tomorrow and in the process of them cooking, I will get the laundry done and work on the hair ribbons and the dog tugs.

I don't see much sleep in my future anytime soon! Wish me luck!

Charity Item

My son's cub scout pack is having a silent auction to benefit Friends of Scouting at our annual dinner. I am donating a handmade fleece throw with our pack numbers embroidered on it. It is a great blanket for all kinds of things including snuggling up with it while camping, putting it on your bed, hanging out on the couch. Best of all the boys can put their patches on it. The patches that they earn throughout the year don't go on their uniforms and some boys haven't bought the red vest that they can be sewn on. This way they can put their patches on this blanket and keep it for a keepsake of their time in cub scouts.If you see it and want one I sell them too. Email me or leave me a comment with your email and I will get in contact with you. I can do them for Boy Scouts in tan and green and for Girl Scouts too.

Caroline's Fleece Jacket

I cut this jacket out on Tuesday afternoon and I sewed it together last night. I was so proud of it and think it looks very cute. It was interesting sewing a jacket together as it was a bit different than other clothes that I had sewed before. I used fleece and sometimes when the layers were four or more deep it was a little hard to sew through. Caroline picked out the iron-on appliques. There are two butterflies on her left breast and on the bottom there are flowers and ladybugs. She went to bed before it was done and this morning I showed it to her.

She was quick to announce that she didn't like it because it didn't have Mickey Mouse on it. Well, that is just too bad!! Still it is cute and she wore it to school today without argument.

Fit for a Princess

This is the nightgown I made for my middle daughter. She loved it so much that she sat in front of the mirror and looked at herself for a full hour after I made it. My youngest liked it so much that she has asked me to make her one too. The pattern is McCalls #5510. I got it at Hancock Fabrics last week at their 'warehouse sale'. The pattern was 99cents and the material was $2 a yard. It took about 2 yards to make.

The blankets

Here are the two fleece blankets I made yesterday evening.

I'm So Excited...

and I just can't hide it....

Oh my oh my! I can't tell you how excited I was tonight when I finally found my rubbermaid box of sewing supplies. I don't know what I was thinking but I decided to look one more time in my closet (aka: storage eave) and try to find it. I searched and searched and (yes the closet is that big) and I finally found it. I opened it up and it was like Christmas to me. I found my pinking sheers, bobbins, thread, needles, and lots of material. I hopped right on a project and started cutting the fleece blankets I wanted to make for the kids. I will post a picture of them tomorrow as they are all sleeping with the blankets right now. I chose coordinating fleece. For the girls, one side is a flower pattern and the other side is a matching plaid. For my son, his is a commemorative cub scout picture on one side and solid blue on the other. I sewed up the sides, turned it right side out and then ran another stitch around the outer edge to make a border of sorts. They love them.

I had a strip of fabric from the blankets as long as the blankets are and about 8 inches wide. With these scraps I made fleece boa scarves. I sew down the middle of the strips long ways and then cut with scissors the fringe (use your rotary blade it is faster) all along the edges. Here is a picture of the boa scarves:
I am just so excited to have my sewing machine out again. We had bought a smaller table at a yard sale early last fall for $5 for the table and two chairs. The chairs need refinishing and the table needs a new top but I cleaned it up and moved it into my bedroom to set up the machine. It is the perfect size for sewing and for the room space.

So my mind is running now of how to have a stay at home business and make stuff that will bring in an income. I think I may think on this a while. The three blankets took me a total of an hour to make and that includes making the scarves too. I need to figure a way to get the material wholesale and then to find a way to sell them.